Trump administration formally accepts gift jet from Qatar

The Trump administration has formally accepted a Boeing 747 jet that was gifted to the U.S. by the government of Qatar, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the luxury plane “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to CNBC.

The Department of Defense will work to ensure that the jet, which President Donald Trump wants to use as the new Air Force One, fulfills “proper security measures and functional-mission requirements,” Parnell said.

The announcement cements the U.S. government’s intention to take the plane, despite experts’ warnings and Democrats’ accusations of bribery.

At the White House on Wednesday, Trump called the gift “a great thing” and said Qatar handed over the plane “so they could help us out.”

Boeing has spent years working to convert two 747s into the next Air Force Ones in a deal struck during Trump’s first term as president. But the project is years behind schedule, and the planes may not be ready before the end of Trump’s second term.

Trump administration officials earlier this year said the president was frustrated with that pace and considering alternatives. “Boeing’s a little late, unfortunately,” Trump said Wednesday.

But it is far from clear if the 13-year-old Qatari jet, which has been valued at $400 million, could truly offer a quick fix.

Experts have said that converting that jet into an Air Force One could cost taxpayers over $1 billion and take years to complete.

Qatar’s gift has also raised swells of anger from Democrats and other critics, some of whom have condemned the exchange as an effective bribe of a U.S. president. Even some Republicans have raised concerns about the potential national security risks and other issues surrounding the gift.

“The transaction strikes me as being rife with political espionage, ethical and constitutional problems,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week.

But Trump has repeatedly defended accepting the donation, saying it would be “stupid” not to accept a free jet and insisting that it is going to the U.S. government, “not to me.”

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told analysts his company’s latest quarterly earnings call that “we continue to work with the customer to revise the program plan to allow for an earlier first delivery while maintaining our focus on safety and quality.”

— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.